A STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF NONCOMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ACT, 2007 AMONG PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA

The enormous investment through grants for infrastructures development in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in Nigeria calls for integrity and accountability in the procurement process. However, questions have been raised as to judicious use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions comply with the due process. This study examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of building projects in all public HEI in Southwest Nigeria. In all, 44 institutions comprising 17 Universities, 17 Polytechnics, and 10 Colleges of Education were used for the study. The opinions of the institutions' Procurement Officers on the causes of non-compliance with the Act in their procurement process were sought using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that non-compliance with the Act was due to inadequate knowledge of the Act, non-employment of qualified and experienced Procurement Officer, insufficient publicity of the Act, and non-existence of corporate governance leading to poor management of procurement record and non-provision of incentive. Conclusively, engagement of Procurement Officers having: the right educational and professional qualifications, understanding of the Act, sufficient cognate working experience, and occupying management position will enhance compliance. Builders and Engineers managed project procurement records better than other professionals. Consequently, in addition to adopting an organizational culture with corporate governance structure that supports engagement of the right and qualified personnel to handle procurement, encourages them to perform at their best and rewards excellence service by giving incentives, and operates within an administrative environment devoid of corruption.